Oklahoma safety Damond Harmon intends to transfer. Harmon was a former four-star recruit in the class of 2021.
Oklahoma’s defensive back takes another hit as the Sooners lose their second defensive back to transfer portal this week. According to Brandon Drumm and Parker Thune of OUInsider safety Damond Harmon has decided to enter the transfer portal following Oklahoma’s spring game.
Harmon, a former four-star recruit becomes the eighth signee of Oklahoma’s 2021 class to depart for other opportunities. Harmon made his most notable splash as a player in two starts last year after playing primarily special teams as a freshman in 2021.
For his career, Harmon amassed 22 tackles in 23 career games. Harmon’s departure is a case of where he was on the depth chart.
Billy Bowman, Reggie Pearson, Key Lawrence, and Robert Spears-Jennings all seemed to have supplanted him on the two deep and it seemed unlikely for Harmon to supplant either this upcoming season. The addition and rapid rise of Peyton Bowen complicated his path to playing time as well.
Harmon broke thru last year as a consistent rotational member at safety before a concussion, and other players returning from injury, pushed him back down the depth chart.
Harmon was listed as the No. 26 cornerback and No. 304 overall prospect in the 2021 class and picked Oklahoma over schools like Michigan and Florida.
Harmon, Jamarrien Burt, and Jaden Davis have all entered the transfer portal in the past two weeks. Oklahoma only figures to bring just one high school defensive back in four-star safety Daeh McCullough this summer.
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Oklahoma has its spring game this weekend, and we’ve got five things we’ll be looking at for Oklahoma’s spring debut of team 129.
Team 129 in Oklahoma’s illustrious football history takes the field publically for the first time on Saturday afternoon. It’s a game and weekend that means a lot to the team, staff, fanbase, and recruits.
Oklahoma comes into this spring off the heels of its worst season in over 20 years. The Sooners were a rough watch at times. Despite that, they still found themselves in a bowl game against a talented Florida State team.
Oklahoma lost the likes of [autotag]Brayden Willis[/autotag], [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag], [autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag], [autotag]Wanya Morris[/autotag], [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag], [autotag]Jalen Redmond[/autotag], and [autotag]DaShaun White[/autotag] to the NFL Draft process.
The Sooners saw players transfer out but also welcomed in a number of players from their top-five recruiting class. The Sooners attacked the portal with some serious intensity bringing in impact transfers on both sides of the ball.
It’s now time for the world to at least get a glimpse of some of these new Sooners while getting a chance to see how the returning players improved from last year.
Here are our top five storylines heading into the spring game.
Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Jaden Davis enters the transfer portal.
The second transfer window is underway, and Oklahoma has lost another player to the portal. Senior cornerback [autotag]Jaden Davis[/autotag] announced via social media that he’s entering the transfer portal.
In his announcement, Davis said, “Thank you Sooner Nation for everything. I’ll be entering the transfer portal as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.”
Davis started 21 games in his Oklahoma career, according to Pro Football Focus, including nine games in 2022. He fell out of favor late in the season with the emergence of [autotag]C.J. Coldon[/autotag].
The Oklahoma Sooners have added a lot of cornerback talent in an attempt to rebuild their secondary in [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ second year in Norman. With the additions of [autotag]Jayden Rowe[/autotag] and [autotag]Gentry Williams[/autotag] in 2022 and [autotag]Makari Vickers[/autotag], [autotag]Kendel Dolby[/autotag] and Jasiah Wagoner in 2023, the Sooners brought in a number of players that were signed by this coaching staff.
This transfer portal season has been one of attrition to the Grinch defense. A number of players have departed that weren’t really factoring into the defensive rotation.
Though Davis had become a veteran member of the secondary, practice reports were high on Wagoner, Dolby and Vickers in their first offseason with the Sooners.
Head Coach Brent Venables believes his defensive backs will be better than they were a year ago.
Brent Venables and his staff committed to ensuring the results of the 2022 season would not be replicated in 2023.
He and the Sooners’ staff were hyperactive in the transfer portal, and they closed their 2023 recruiting class on a significant high note by securing the services of five-star safety Peyton Bowen.
As the Sooners look ahead to spring practice, the time for evaluation and understanding just what type of roster the Sooners will have is here. When speaking with the media last week, Venables made it clear one specific group is primed for a better year.
The defensive backfield.
“So I think we’ll be an improved group,” Venables said about the defensive backfield. “And we lost a bunch of guys. I think we know that … I’m not sure we didn’t lose a lot of production in the secondary, but we, we lost a bunch of bodies.”
Brent Venables believes between the players returning and those that joined the team as midyear enrollees, the Oklahoma Sooners have a better group of defensive backs than they did a year ago.
[autotag]Kendall Dennis[/autotag] (USF), [autotag]Bryson Washington[/autotag] (New Mexico) and [autotag]Joshua Eaton[/autotag] (Texas State) transferred out after the 2022 season. It’s notable none landed with a Power Five squad.
[autotag]CJ Coldon[/autotag] is the biggest loss the Sooners suffered in the secondary after a strong second half of the season. [autotag]Justin Broiles[/autotag] hopes to continue his playing career at the NFL level.
Dennis, Washington and Eaton didn’t play enough for their departures to matter much. Their transfers allow Oklahoma to examine what they have in the players brought in over the past two cycles.
Gentry Williams snagged an interception in his first collegiate game. He didn’t see the field much as a true freshman, but the Sooners love his size, athletic ability, and his competitiveness.
Robert Spears-Jennings is another 2022 signee that could make an impact this season. His play speed and physicality were on display last season despite limited snaps.
Kani Walker was brought in before the season from Louisville. Like Williams, Walker has the physical tools the Sooners are looking for in their outside corners.
[autotag]Reggie Pearson[/autotag], a transfer from Texas Tech, is a heavy hitter with plenty of collegiate experience. That physicality and experience will help bring an edge to the Sooners defensive backfield.
Most notably, [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] also joins the defensive back room. The most highly coveted secondary recruit for Oklahoma in quite a while, Bowen is expected to be a great one.
[autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag], [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag], [autotag]Damond Harmon[/autotag], [autotag]Jaden Davis[/autotag], [autotag]Justin Harrington[/autotag] and [autotag]Key Lawrence[/autotag] return after playing meaningful snaps for the Sooners last season. They’ll get another offseason in the Sooners’ defensive system, and should have a better understanding of the expectations in the defense.
The hope is because of the improved talent, there will be better production and depth on the secondary depth chart when it drops just before the season.
It remains to be seen how this will actually play out over the course of the season. However, it’s hard to argue with Venables’ assessment. The players who played the most last year are back and should understand the scheme better, which will lead to better performances on the field.
All that’s left is for those returning players to prove their head coach right.
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In his evaluation of the 2023 recruiting classes, Fox Sports Joel Klatt shared that he loves what Oklahoma has done on the recruiting trail.
When Lincoln Riley left for USC, one of the big national talking points wondered how well Brent Venables and his staff would perform on the recruiting trail.
“I’ve walked into four playoffs, and I’ve never had better than maybe the third-best roster (of the four teams),” Riley said. “Every other year, we were 4 of 4. We had really good rosters, but they weren’t the same. … I can’t imagine that there could be a setting that we could build a better roster than we can here.”
Time will tell if Brent Venables and his staff can get to a College Football Playoff. But based strictly on recruiting rankings, Riley’s comment was a lie.
The Sooners have done an incredible job over the last year on the recruiting trail and have a chance to follow their No. 4 class with another top-five group if a few things fall right. If they can build on their success on the recruiting trail in the 2022 and 2023 cycles, there’s no reason the Sooners will not be national title contenders in the future.
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On the latest Joel Klatt Show, the Fox Sports analyst broke down the 2023 recruiting cycle and had some positive things to say about the Sooners class. In particular, Klatt mentions Venables is already outperforming Riley on the recruiting trail.
Oklahoma. I thought Oklahoma had a really great class. And obviously the the rankings suggest that as far as the total class, in terms of recruits and transfers No. 6, their best since 2021, when Caleb Williams came in. They had the the No. 4 class in the country when it just looks at high school recruits. That’s their best high school class since 2005. So, like, Brent Venables did a great job. I looked back at some of these classes that they had had high school only over the last few years, and Lincoln Riley wasn’t touching that, you know. 2019 I believe they had like the sixth best class in the country. They had an eight in there, but then like 10, 13, 9, 19 in 2016. So Brent Venables has done a really good job. Their first class is the best they’ve had in a long time. Six of their best seven recruits are either defensive players or offensive linemen. How do you get good? How do you win going into the SEC? You better play good defense. You better play good on the line of scrimmage, and their best player overall is their quarterback that they got, Jackson Arnold. So I loved what Oklahoma did. – Klatt, The Joel Klatt Show
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It took Brent Venables just one year to put together one of the best recruiting classes in Oklahoma history. It’s an incredible signing class made even more incredible by the balance it has. As Klatt mentions, as the Sooners prepare to play in the SEC, they have to be good on defense and good up front on both sides of the ball.
Ten of Oklahoma’s four- and five-stars come on the defensive side of the football. The six offensive blue-chippers are the No. 4 quarterback, [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], offensive linemen [autotag]Cayden Green[/autotag] and [autotag]Joshua Bates[/autotag], running back [autotag]Daylan Smothers[/autotag], and wide receivers [autotag]Jaquaize Pettaway[/autotag] and [autotag]Keyon Brown[/autotag]. With Bates, Green, Adepoju Adebawore and Derrick LeBlanc, Oklahoma added four blue-chip players to their offensive and defensive line.
That’ll have to continue or even get better to get on Alabama or Georgia’s level, but it’s a great start.
Perhaps the most impressive collection of players they brought in at one position is in the defensive backfield, where they added six four- and five-star defensive backs.
Lincoln Riley did a good job on the recruiting trail, but his best high school class in 2019 didn’t have the desired impact, and he definitely didn’t recruit this well on defense.
They had 16 blue-chip players signed to that class, eight of which were on the defensive side of the ball. Their highest-rated defensive player was ranked No. 163. That class had three top 200 defensive players signed. In the 2023 cycle, Venables added six top 200 players on defense, four of which were top 100 signees.
Of those 16 four- and five-star players in the 2019 class, only four or five had a significant impact for the Sooners: [autotag]Spencer Rattler[/autotag], [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag], [autotag]David Ugwoegbu[/autotag], [autotag]Theo Wease[/autotag] and [autotag]Jadon Haselwood[/autotag]. Of those five, only Woodi Washington remains with the squad. Everyone else transferred.
[autotag]Jaden Davis[/autotag], [autotag]Marcus Stripling[/autotag], [autotag]Joseph Wete[/autotag] and [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] are still with the squad, but have not taken the step into stardom.
In two recruiting cycles, Brent Venables has added 33 four- and five-star players to the Sooners’ roster. Nineteen are on the defensive side of the football.
Venables and his staff can recruit. That much has been made clear. They did a great job in the two months they had prior to 2022 national signing day putting together the No. 8 class in the nation. And did even better with a year to work with in the 2023 class. Given two years to work on the 2024 class, it’s possible Venables and his staff can recreate the success from 2023 or even exceed it.
And that’s what it’s going to take for Oklahoma to be in a position to contend with Alabama and Georgia, whether it is in the Big 12 or the SEC. With the success it has had on the trail, there should be little doubt that the staff can build a roster that can contend for national championships.
To steal from Riley, there may not be a setting where Oklahoma could build a better roster than it can here.
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Oklahoma issues an offer to 2024 four-star Michigan State cornerback commit Jaylen Thompson
Oklahoma’s outlook at the corner position for the 2024 season could very well depend on how things shake out for them this year.
They will likely lose upperclassmen Woodi Washington and Jaden Davis. Behind those two are a bunch of unproven guys that will have every opportunity to showcase themselves this upcoming season.
With two departures at a minimum, Oklahoma would be best served to make sure they hit the recruiting trail hard to find cornerbacks to fit their system.
With that in mind, Oklahoma has already offered over 15 cornerbacks in the class of 2024, and the list continues to grow with an offer to Jaylen Thompson out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee late last week.
Thompson, a four-star Michigan State commit, is over six feet tall and is one of the ten best prospects in Tennessee.
His athleticism and length stand out the most when watching him on film. He also is from the same city as a current OU cornerback, Woodi Washington, which undoubtedly could be used in Oklahoma’s recruiting pitch.
Oklahoma takes on Oklahoma State in Bedlam this week. We are taking at look at five defensive players to watch. From @thatmanbryant
Oklahoma’s season comes down to just two games in an attempt to become bowl eligible. The first of those two games occurs on Saturday when in-state rival Oklahoma State comes to town.
In the wake of the Sooners loss to Oklahoma State a year ago, the program went through a shocking 24 hours. Lincoln Riley left for USC, the 2022 class began to fall apart, and several Sooners entered the transfer portal. It was a shocking series of events, but all of it paved the way for Oklahoma to bring in Brent Venables.
At 5-5 in his first season at the helm, Oklahoma must win this game, and the Venables’ defense will have its hands full.
Oklahoma will be lining up across from one of the Big 12’s better quarterbacks, Spencer Sanders. Even while competing through injuries this season, Sanders has thrown for 2,261 yards, 16 touchdowns, and only five interceptions while completing 58.5 percent of his passes. He’s also run for 628 yards and two scores, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. He’s the engine for this Oklahoma State offense, and without him, the Cowboys aren’t nearly as productive.
His weapons will also test Oklahoma as well, which brings us to this question: How will the Sooners’ defense perform? We’ll find out Saturday evening, but here are five guys that could be instrumental in helping the Sooners’ defense slow down the Cowboys.
Oklahoma’s defense has a tough task ahead of them against a strong Baylor rushing attack. Here are 5 Sooners that will be key on defense. From @thatmanbryant
Oklahoma enters Saturday’s contest with a chance for revenge. Oklahoma lost to just two teams last year, Baylor and Oklahoma State. Both losses came on the road, which means both will be home games for Oklahoma this season.
Their mini revenge tour starts Saturday as they take on the Baylor Bears at home. Bears’ head coach Dave Aranda has had success against Oklahoma and members of this coaching staff before. Aranda’s 2019 LSU defense suffocated the Sooners in the College Football Playoff before going on to defeat Clemson in the National Championship game. At Baylor, his teams have played Oklahoma incredibly hard.
While Aranda has his handprints all over the defense, Oklahoma must figure out how to stop the Baylor offense that ranks 27th nationally in yards per game at 456.2 and just ahead of the Sooners in yards per play at 6.13 compared to 6.10.
Oklahoma has Billy Bowman back and looks to have Damond Harmon back as well. With a defense that is getting healthy, here are five players that will be key to a win on Saturday vs. Baylor.
Oklahoma names captains ahead of their week four matchup with the Kansas State Wildcats.
The Oklahoma Sooners have turned their attention to the Kansas State Wildcats after their week three decimation of Nebraska in Lincoln. Welcoming the Wildcats to Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Saturday night will be the newly elected captains for this week’s Big 12 opener.
As has become custom, the Oklahoma Sooners elect captains for each week’s matchup. This week, it will be center Andrew Raym, cornerback Jaden Davis, wide receiver Marvin Mims, defensive tackle Jeffery Johnson, and defensive end Ethan Downs.
Marvin Mims leads the Oklahoma Sooners in receiving with 14 receptions for 310 yards and two touchdowns. Ethan Downs is second on the team in sacks with 2.5 through three games. Jeffery Johnson has the highest run defense grade from Pro Football Focus in 2022. Jaden Davis earned rave reviews for his work in the offseason, and it’s showing on the field, while Andrew Raym has become a stabilizing force in the middle of the Sooners’ offensive line.
Each of these players is off to a strong start to the season for the Oklahoma Sooners and will play big roles as Oklahoma enters Big 12 play.
Observations from the first official depth chart released by Oklahoma as the Sooners prepare for their week one matchup with UTEP.
Folks, we have arrived at the first game week of the season for the Oklahoma Sooners. The wait is nearly over and we are merely days away from meaningful football being played in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Sooners have been at it since the winter months getting in shape, lifting in the weight room before transitioning to spring ball, which culminated in one of the best spring game atmospheres the sport has ever seen.
All of that has led us to this week, which is the first game week for Brent Venables as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners.
Venables will don the headset and will see his first team as the head coach take the field against a UTEP team that lost its first game against North Texas 31-13 during week zero.
